OPINIONS
COLLEGE: IS IT REALLY WORTH IT? THE BENEFITS OF CHALLENGING THE ATTENDING COLLEGE INSTITUTION OF A HIGHER EDUCATION T by Ashley Litoff
here is a lot of talk about whether getting a college degree is really necessary, and if it’s a good investment because of how expensive college is these days. College helps prepare you for the rest of your life. Also, college can help you decide what you want to do or what career you want to go into. It can give you the base you need to get started. Overall college is full of positive experiences. I believe that everyone should go to college despite the expense, because it’s a good investment for your life, and it’s worth it!
College is a learning experience beyond the classroom that can help prepare you for the rest of your life. Since most people live in their college dorm their freshman year, this prepares people for living on their own. Before this you have your parents watching out for you; in college, no one is worrying about you--you have to worry about yourself. College students have a lot of freedom and it is practice for the real deal. This freedom involves living away from home, and learning to balance work and fun. Going on to get a higher education, is also a time that can help you develop the skill of independence, and is a time where a lot of people mature. If you want a great base for your career, going to college can help you get started with everything and open yourself to many possibilities. Many jobs require you to have a college degree, so by earning your degree you are making yourself more marketable for jobs. Desirable jobs requiring a degree include a Petroleum Engineer, Statistician, Information Systems Managers, Civil Engineer, Nurse, and Healthcare Administrator. As well, the more skills you learn in college, the better chance you have of getting picked for the job you are trying to get. For example, if the job is between you and someone who doesn’t have as many skills or as much as an education as you do, it could be the deciding factor for getting a job. College is the key to earning an income and getting a job. Although it’s very expensive to go to college, in the end if you stick with it the investment is worth it. A 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center, found that 86% of college grads say college was a good investment for them. This is because college gives you the skills you
by David Andrews
M
any teenagers in the United States have been told their whole lives that college is essential for success. Their educational paths have been laid out before them by mislead parents that believe college is the only path to success. Few give any thought to the alternatives to college. College costs are skyrocketing and the crippling debt that students experience at graduation now greatly outweigh the limited benefits that college provides.
need to get a job and in the end a job can “pay you back” for the expenses for most people. In 2010, people who earned a Bachelor’s degree made an average of $72,020 a year, while people who have a high school diploma earned an average of $39,988 a year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall people who end of going to college make more money and have more opportunities as well. In addition, college is not an experience you would want to miss out on. Many people consider college to be one of the most exciting times in their lives. You get to meet a lot of new people and connect with people who share common interests. You get to “start over” in a way, which can be scary as well as thrilling. Going to an institution of higher education is a new start to the rest of your life and is fun and not all work. To miss out on something as exciting as college would be a bummer. Even with the cost, college is worth your time and money. Proceeding to college is a great way to start your future. Also when you advance to college, it gives you the skills you need, the education for a job, the reality of what life away from your parents is like, and is a really fun time in your life! If you’re deciding whether or not you want to go to college, think of all the possibilities it could lead to. College is the way to go.
The debt that students are saddled with upon graduation greatly limits their post-graduation exploits. Instead of widening their understanding of the world and traveling, these youths are forced to enter the workforce immediately. Travelling and experiencing other cultures can help young adults figure out what they want to do with their lives and give them new perspective on their lives.
ters of taking tests and eeking out grades.
In the workforce today, companies don’t have the money or resources to teach employees specific skills once on the job. Corporations would much rather employ someone with the specific skills needed for the job already intact. These specific skills can be learned at much less expensive institutions than
Students need to reevaluate the basic premises of college and why they want to attend. The most intelligent and motivated students are attending prestigious colleges as a result For my parents, they had few student loans to of the selective entry process. People then pay off and were free to travel. While on their automatically assume that entry into these respective trips to Boulder, Colorado they hap- universities will make them successful and pened to meet. If they were burdened by the the quality of the education will be extremely student debt of today both of them would have beneficial. been forced to enter the workforce immediately in a job they were overqualified for and The truth is that top notch universities accept begin the arduous process of paying off their the most highly motivated students and loans. churn them out relatively the same. Are the prestigious universities of America really Especially with today’s technology, four year improving these students? To me, it seems degrees have become obsolete. According to like these colleges are self-fulfilling propheJennifer Derrick of SavingAdvice.com, employ- cies; if they are accepting the best students in ers would much rather take students out of a the world then of course they are producing 2 year college or occupational school that are successful people in the professional world. ready to start the job immediately, rather than These students are destined for success even a student attending a traditional college that without the hundreds of thousands of dollars has to wait at least four years before entering they are spending on college. the workforce. Vocational schools are a viable alternative to a four year university. Vocational schools provide applicable skills to students. Often, students that attend a four-year college hone their skills in the ability to be taught.These students spend endless hours in lecture halls listening to professors without learning any practical real-world skills. These students become mas-
It is imperative that we challenge the commonly held belief that college is essential to success. While I understand that college is the right choice for some, it is not for everyone. The cost of college is ballooning and in our new, tech-centered job market expensive four year institutions are not the best option for many.
THE ROAD TO COLLEGE: PREPARATION
The “Step-By-Step” Trancript Process, posted in the Post-Grad Center for seniors looking at colleges. Photo by Will Petersen
Seniors Alana Chen and Will Minter discussing their work in the Post-Grad center. Photo by Dalton Vallete
2